Plan for Asian tertiary ties

JULIA Gillard's Australia in the Asian Century white paper is expected to recommend closer links with Asian universities.

JULIA Gillard's Australia in the Asian Century white paper is expected to recommend closer links between Australian and Asian universities so more students can complete part of their degree at an overseas campus.

Deepening people-to-people links and fostering a more Asia-literate workforce are key objectives of the white paper to be released in Sydney by the Prime Minister on Sunday, but experts familiar with the paper say closer links between Australian and Asian tertiary institutions will also feature

Last week the Australian and Indian governments concluded a memorandum of understanding on increasing student mobility.

The Australian understands the white paper will not involve extra government spending but will serve as a key blueprint on how to maximise the opportunities created by rising Asian economies and the markets created by their growing middle classes.

The white paper will also stress the need for a deeper program of Asian language teaching in Australian schools, and the need to better harness connections that exist because of migrant communities here and by the Australian diaspora.

Maintaining Australia's economic competitiveness will also be a key theme of the paper.

John Denton, a partner and Melbourne chief executive with Corrs Chambers Westgath, who was on the white paper panel, said maintaining Australia's economic strength would be a key to maintaining influence in the Asian region and beyond.

He said the white paper would introduce themes and policy frameworks about how Australia could remain strong in the 21st century.

Trade Minister Craig Emerson said the white paper would be based on common sense. "Look, it's really very much about people-to-people relationships," he said. "It's not some sort of sophisticated, computable general equilibrium model or anything like that.

"We used to talk about the tyranny of distance and here we are at the right place, at the right time, in the Asian region in the Asian Century," he said. "Let's make the most of it and give our young people that splendid diversity of career opportunities that is on offer."